Packers GM Ted Thompson signs extension with Packers

Packers GM Ted Thompson signs extension with Packers

07/30/2014 07:36 PM

The deal is a multi-year extension

GREEN BAY, Wis. (WFRV) - Green Bay Packers General Manager Ted Thompson has signed a multi-year extension to remain with the team past 2016, when his current deal was set to expire. Thompson is entering his 10th season as Packers General Manager and Executive Vice President.

"This place means a lot to me," said Thompson in press conference that was scheduled before the contract announcement was made. "Counting the eight years before and almost 10 now, that's a lot of your life. I'm honored to be a part of it."

As usual, Thompson declined to specify on details of a contract, this time his own.

"No, I'm not a very specific guy."

At age 61 Thompson, who still considers himself a scout first, says there are plenty of reasons for him to continue on in Green Bay.

"The more you think about it, the more you think how nuts are you to walk away from something like this," Thompson said. "It's easy to say I'm going to ride of into the sunset or go milk some cows or whatever else it was I supposed to go do. But I have people I'm responsible for here, too. People that I hired that taken up this profession because of my insistence or encouragement. There's a certain amount of responsibility you have to the people you work with."

Thompson says a new contract extension for head coach Mike McCarthy is a big priority moving forward. The Packers GM is looking forward to continuing to work with the man he hired back in 2006.

"People work together as long as Mike and I have I think you develop certain understandings of each other," said Thompson. "There are certain things you can communicate that are unsaid. We anticipate each others thoughts often, which might drive both of us crazy sometimes."

But that continuity has also led to a lot of winning during the Thompson/McCarthy era, including five straight playoff berths and a Super Bowl win. Thompson says the whole process of building a winning team keeps him coming back.

"You go into a winning locker room after all we do," said Thompson. "All the sacrifices these young men make, and their families make and the coaching staff, everybody in the organization. I don't think it gets any better than that."

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Press Release from the Green Bay Packers:

The Green Bay Packers have signed Ted Thompson, the team’s Executive Vice President, General Manager and Director of Football Operations, to a new, multi-year contract, team President/CEO Mark Murphy announced Wednesday.

Thompson, who is entering his 10th season as the leader of the team’s football operations, has built the Packers into one of the NFL’s strongest and most consistent teams.

His tenure has been highlighted by a victory in Super Bowl XLV and four NFC North titles, including winning the division each of the last three seasons, marking only the third time the Packers won three consecutive since the league went to a divisional format in 1967.

“I’m pleased that we were able to enter into this contract extension with Ted,” Murphy said. “His outstanding work has been the key factor in the success that we’ve enjoyed in recent years. I have tremendous respect for Ted, and am confident that we will continue to contend for championships under his leadership.”

Since taking over as general manager in 2005, Thompson has built the foundation for a Green Bay team that has made six playoff appearances. The Packers are one of only two NFL clubs (New England) to make the playoffs each of the last five seasons.

In Thompson’s first nine seasons, Green Bay finished with a winning record six times and won at least 10 games five times.

In 2011, the Packers set a franchise record with 15 regular-season wins. From 2005-13, Green Bay compiled 92 victories, including playoffs, which tied for the fifth most in the NFL over that span. The Packers are one of only eight teams to play in at least 10 postseason games since 2005.

The 61-year-old Thompson is a native of Atlanta, Texas. He was a three-year starter at Southern Methodist University and enjoyed a 10-year playing career as a linebacker with the Houston Oilers (1975-84). Thompson previously served an eight-year tenure with Green Bay’s personnel department (1992-99) and five seasons in Seattle (2000-04) as the Seahawks’ vice president of football operations before re-joining the Packers in 2005.

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